Just days before heading to the Super Bowl, San Francisco 49er cornerback, Chris Culliver, landed himself in some potential hot water when his views toward gay football players came out of the closet. In a radio interview with Artie Lange, when asked how he would feel playing side by side with gay players, he had some surprisingly candid and homophobic comments. From Think Progress:

“I don’t do the gay guys man,” said Culliver, whose Niners play the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. “I don’t do that. No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do.”

“Can’t be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can’t be…in the locker room man. Nah.”

With attitudes like Culliver’s, it’s no wonder there are no openly gay football players in the NFL. Similarly, there are no openly gay players in Major League Baseball, the NHL or the NBA.

Culliver isn’t the first player to express homophobic opinions. Last year, Brandon Spikes, a linebacker for the New England Patriots, tweeted that he was homophobic, saying:

“Just like I’m arachnophobic. I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders but I’d still scream if I found one in my bathtub.”

His defense, of course, was that he was joking; however, in baseball, an Angels outfielder, Torii Hunter, said it was against his religion,

“For me, as a Christian … I will be uncomfortable because in all my teachings and all my learning, biblically, it’s not right,” he says. “It will be difficult and uncomfortable.”

The 49ers are not standing behind Culliver. Many on the team, including the coach, Jim Harbaugh, have come to the defense of diversity on the team. From TMZ:

“I ask all players to play through their own personality and be who they are. What you ask of a player is to be a great teammate and be a good player. My expectations would be the same,” Harbaugh said. “Personally, there’s no discrimination in my heart.”

LinebackerLarry Grant echoed Harbaugh … saying, “At the end of the day, we are all family in this locker room, and we accept each player for whoever they are.”

Ditto for cornerback Tarell Brown … who said, “Whatever makes you happy, do it. I just feel like, you shouldn’t hide it. At the end of the day don’t be embarrassed with what you are, or what you do. If you are that way, that’s you.”

Last year, several team members participated in a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign. Here’s the video:

Wendy Gittleson is a seasoned writer, a dog lover and an avid political junkie. She is the Senior Editor for Addicting Info. In her rare down times, you’ll find her somewhere in the mountains or near the beach. Follow her on her Facebook page or on Twitter, @wendygittleson

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